travel zen on friday: the dead sea

The Dead Sea at Dusk.

One of the most fascinating things about the Dead Sea? It's highly reflective. Happy Friday, everyone!

day 12 in japan: kyoto (golden pavillion, lots of temples, bamboo forest and meeting kinji nakamura-san)

A "wishing well" near the Golden Pavillion.

(Kyoto, Japan).  Today was our main "tourist" day in Kyoto where we planned to visit a large number of the key attractions in Kyoto with a private guide.  I ended up using the same company I used in Tokyo  (www.chrisrowthorn.com).  The reviews were good and we were pleased with our guide in Tokyo despite our tour getting partially rained out.  

For the Kyoto full-day tour, I had asked if we could customize slightly because I wanted to meet up with a Japanese artist (Kinji Nakamura-san) whom I met over 9 years ago in the Bamboo Forest.  He was selling postcards and didn't speak much english but I was immediately drawn to his beautiful artworks.  I had tried writing him previously to purchase some original pieces, but communication was difficult.  I was hoping our guide could not only facilitate the meeting, but also act as an interpreter.  The guide Sato-san promptly met us in our hotel lobby at 9am and he called the artist to schedule an afternoon meeting.  (For the entire story of how I hunted down this artist to purchase some of his beautiful artwork, please go here.)

tips for driving in israel

Somewhere near Mt. Beatitudes.

An Israeli-American friend once told me that Israel is basically the size of New Jersey. His point being, that, Israel is a small country and getting around is not difficult.

While public transportation (inter-city busses and, in some areas, trains) exists, some of them may not operate during Sabbath. 

So, with a bit of research on car rental companies, Mr. Sazy Rock and I decided to rent a car for greater flexibility with me being the primary (and, truth be told, the only) driver. These are my tips (which is accurate as of this publication):

travel zen on friday: musician on royal street in new orleans

Encountering another talented musician in New Orleans during a stroll in the French Quarter.

hotel review: kyoto brighton hotel in kyoto, japan

The front of the Kyoto Brighton Hotel.

(Kyoto, Japan).   For our first few days in Kyoto, I chose to stay at Kyoto Brighton Hotel based on the favorable Tripadvisor reviews without understanding where anything was located in the city.  In hindsight, I probably wouldn't have picked this hotel since it's a bit remote from everything other than the Imperial Palace.  It would have been more convenient to stay closer to the Gion area or near Nishiki Market (a fabulous foodie heaven!).  Regardless, our room was comfortable and clean, and the service was good but a bit stuffy.

israel eats

Mr. Sazy Rock and I travel to research different cuisines of the world. Along the way, we've been lucky to meet amazing people who are passionate about their country's food offerings. Thus, our trip to Israel has revealed to us so many amazing dishes. Some familiar, others not so much. This is by no means a complete list. Not even close. But, these dishes definitely made us go mmmmmmmm.

One of the new friends we met in Israel, Inbal from Delicious Israel, offered to show us around the shuk (or market) in Tel Aviv as well as her other favorite spots around town. An expat from New York, she now runs a company that provides food tours in Israel. She was not only friendly and generous, she was also very informative. She explained that Israeli food was mostly borrowed from different cultures -- that is, immigrants brought their food into the country and made it their own. She further said that arguably, the only "true" Israeli food is the Sabich (more on that later) because it was composed in Israel.

Whatever their provenance, the food we tasted in Israel rocked. Below are my highlights:

travel zen on friday: caesarea in israel

The beautiful Mediterranean and the ruins of King Herod's city he named Caesarea.

Caesarea.

day 11 in japan: tokyo to kyoto (bullet train, manga museum, geisha and yakitori)

Last tasty breakfast at the buffet at Westin Tokyo.

Today we were leaving Tokyo and heading to Kyoto!  I was excited but also a bit sad.   We had another tasty breakfast at the Westin Tokyo before doing a final check of our hotel room to make sure we didn't leave anything behind.  Since we had sent most of our luggage ahead to Kyoto via the Takuhaibin service (review here), we didn't really have that much to search through or to carry.  Can I say again how much I love luggage delivery in Japan??   

Waiting to board our bullet train.

We had pre-ordered our tickets on the Shinkansen (i.e., bullet train) through the hotel concierge (with fees, approx. $110 per person).  I think it was the Tokaido Line which takes you to Osaka and then Kyoto in about 2 hours!  It's cheaper if you get tickets directly at the train station but we wanted the convenience and the reserved seating.  (Also, we noticed our concierge got us the roomiest row of seats.  Go concierge!)

Here it comes!

Fortunately the concierge had advised us to catch the train at Shingawa Station (instead of Tokyo Station) since it was a bit closer to our hotel and less crowded than Tokyo Station.   The taxi driver that took us to Shingawa was an old pro and took us into some secret underground tunnel route and got us to the station in no time.  He didn't speak English but was super helpful and got us to the closest entrance for the bullet train.

We had time after breakfast to pick up some bento boxes from the fancy food markets at Ebisu Station to take with us on our train ride.  (As an aside, there was a bakery stall that sold this amazing layered pound cake - absolutely divine!)  

If you see this cake (and this brand), buy it!  You won't regret it.

But back to bento boxes - eating bento box lunches on the train is probably my favorite thing about riding on the bullet train ... even more so than the amazing speed and cleanliness of the bullet train.  Not sure what that says about me...  Every station we went through had stores or kiosks that sold bento boxes so there's no need to buy them in advance like we did.  At Shingawa, there is also a quiet and clean lounge area to sit in while you wait for your train.

When it was time to board, we found our seats (just look for the correct carriage/seat number) and settled in for the ride.  At some point, a conductor came around to scan our tickets, so I would advise keeping your tickets somewhere handy and not in your luggage.

Bento Box Lunch - with pork katsu, rice and pickled vegetables.

Bento Box Lunch - with grilled salmon, braised veggies and rice.

The ride was very comfortable.  We feasted on our bento box lunches (which were very tasty), listened to some music on our Ipads, and then before we knew it, we had arrived in Kyoto!  

Scene heading out of Tokyo.

Since we only had our backpacks, we easily got on the subway (our SUICA cards work here!) and then looked for the hotel shuttle from Kyoto Brighton Hotel (review to come next week).

Lobby of Kyoto Brighton Hotel.

My tea and mochi (covered in soy powder).

Our room wasn't quite ready yet so we had some refreshments in the lobby cafe - a beer for my husband and green tea (matcha) and mochi for me.

After settling in our room (with all our luggage safely delivered), we took a walk to the Imperial Palace, but we did not have reservations so we couldn't go inside.  The grounds were still worth visiting however - but if you want to see the inside, remember to make reservations in advance.

Manga Museum in the distance.

Energized from our walk, we decided to take the subway and visit the Manga Museum.  They didn't allow pictures instead, but basically there were shelves of manga (comic books), an exhibit showing the history and evolution of manga, and some smaller exhibits of art work.  It was actually quite interesting but most of it was in Japanese so we couldn't enjoy reading the manga.  I did pick up Howl's Moving Castle in English but have yet to break the plastic on the set.  There was also a preview of the live action Attack on Titan movie that looked super cool.  I hope they show it in the U.S. soon.  Overall I would only recommend this museum for avid lovers of manga.

Typical alleyway in Gion.

After our manga fix, we took the subway to the Gion area to explore.  Without any particular goal, we roamed around the many alleyways of bars and restaurants while I tried to explain to my husband that geisha were not bar girls or prostitutes.  I explained that it was quite rare to see geisha and they would not be found at a bar with a logo of legs coming out of a martini glass.  

A dessert shop in Gion - and no, that lady is not a geisha even though my husband insisted.

Soon we were hungry and we decided to be adventurous and pick a restaurant at random.  Yakitori Torise seemed pleasant from the outside and when we first walked in, there were only a few Japanese gentlemen seating at the bar.  We grabbed seats at the bar also and was immediately greeted by the owner/chef, who was very friendly.  He didn't speak much English but found us the one English menu so we could order.

With this logo, how can you not order chicken?

Our english menu, with some helpful pictures.

Give me some sake!

The chicken wings were delicious!  We ordered two or was it three orders?

Chicken and scallions, and chicken on lotus root.

Grilled pork belly - mmmm

Grilled shiso peppers and bonito flakes.

Smoky grilled mushrooms.

We ended up ordering tons of tasty small plates and sake.  The restaurant soon got packed, so we were lucky to find it when we did!  If you are in the area, check this restaurant out!  Everything was delicious and the owner made us feel very welcome.

After dinner we were stuffed and had to walk around to digest a little.  And lo and behold, after all my protestations, we actually saw some geisha (or perhaps maiko - geishas in training) crossing the street!  We tried to take some pictures stealthily - unlike the rude tourist lady who ran up to them and stuck a camera an inch from their faces.   Don't do that people!  

An elusive sighting!

When the excitement of the sighting passed, we stopped to rest in Rigoletto Bar and had some tasty calvados, which admittedly, is a more fun way to aid digestion.

Nightcap at Rigoletto Bar.

Our first day in Kyoto was a success!  Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

ode to the kanafeh (al moktar in nazareth, israel)

Flat Kanafeh.

What is a Kanafeh?

It is basically a Levantine cheese (cheese from the Levant region) covered with pistachio and shredded phyllo dough. It is soaked in syrup so it is sweet and savory.

travel zen on friday: whiskey tasting at yamazaki whiskey distillery in kyoto

Sipping whiskeys in a lovely park-like setting.  Too bad even the distillery didn't have any Yamazaki 12 or 18 for sale.  Boo.

takuhaibin - luggage delivery in japan was AWESOME

Sorry I have no pictures but I wanted to share this amazing travel tip because it made my life so much easier!  I'm talking about the awesome luggage delivery service in Japan which is super reliable and convenient.

I had heard about this magical service years ago from my cousins in Taiwan who regularly used it when they were traveling through Japan.  They would ship their luggage between their hotels so they wouldn't have to drag their luggage through the train stations and/or on the bullet trains (which, in case you didn't know, do not have a lot of luggage space).  For any tourists who plan on shopping a lot, this service is a godsend!  I did a lot of research but this link was probably the most helpful.  

So how were my actual experiences?

restaurant review: raphael in tel aviv

For a country that is mostly a desert, Israel offers top notch produce and seafood. So, I was looking forward to my first fine dining meal. That distinction went to Raphael (also spelled Refael). 

The Scene

We had a hard time finding the restaurant but finally figured out that it was located in the same building as the Dan Hotel in the lower floor (we had to go downstairs). Once inside, the place quickly filled up with diners. There were families, couples on dates and hipster friends out for a good time before painting the town red.

The dining room.

The Service 

The host and servers seemed nice but when we ordered two sodas, they brought bottles but only one glass. A bit bizarre.


The Food 

• The Egg Noodles were served al dente with tender blue crabs and squid in butter. 

Egg noodles.

• The Mackerel with Sour Cream was sprinkled with sea salt and olive oil. The fish was firm.

Mackerel.

• The Mashed Potatoes was whipped with butter and it was smooth.

Mashed Potatoes.

• The Lamb Chops, sadly, was a bit overcooked.

Lamb chops.

• The Liver was peppery and served perfectly pink.

Liver.

• The Chocolate with Hazelnut and Vanilla Ice Cream dessert was dense and rich, and tasty.

Dessert.

The Price

It wasn't cheap. Without booze, and with tip, it was just under $200. 

Menu.

The Verdict

We later learned from friends we met that the chef was kind of a big deal in Tel Aviv. It was a nice meal but it was unremarkable.  


What is your favorite fine dining restaurant you've tried during your travels?

travel zen on friday: petra

This is an ancient Nabatean building called, The Treasury, in Petra. Happy Friday, everyone!

Petra.